Lebanese woman sentenced to eight years for calling Egypt ‘dirty’ in YouTube video

Egyptians Cast Votes in Country's Presidential Election0:41

Egyptians gathered at polling centers across the country on March 26 as the first day of voting in the presidential election got underway. The three-day election sees challenger Moussa Mostafa Moussa of the El-Ghad Party take on the country’s current president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with el-Sisi’s victory widely believed to be a foregone conclusion. Ahead of the voting, the spokesperson for the Egyptian Armed Forces vowed to ensure polling centers were safe. On Saturday, a car bomb attack in Alexandria killed two soldiers. This footage is described as showing voters in Mansoura. Credit: Noaman Samir (نعمان سمير) via Storyful

March 26th 2018

a year ago

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Lebanese woman Mona El-Mazbouh has been sentenced to eight years in prison for insulting Egypt in a YouTube video. Picture: YouTubeSource:Supplied

AN EGYPTIAN court has sentenced a Lebanese woman to eight years in prison over insulting Egyptians in a video she posted online, and set July 29 as the date for her appeal, state media reported.

Mona el-Mazbouh was initially handed down 11 years but the sentence was later reduced to eight, the state-run Al-Ahram news agency reported.

It was unclear why the sentence was reduced. She was also fined 10,700 Egyptian pounds (around $800).

She was charged with “deliberately broadcasting false rumours which aim to undermine society and attack religions.”

The sentence comes after she posted a 10-minute video in which she used profanities to describe her holiday in Cairo where she says she was sexually harassed.

She calls Egyptians the “dirtiest people” and Egypt “the country of pimps … of beggars.”

Lebanese woman Mona El-Mazbouh was sentenced to eight years in prison for criticising Egypt following her holiday there. Picture: YouTubeSource:Supplied

She was arrested in May before departing from Cairo.

Earlier in May, authorities arrested Egyptian activist Amal Fathy after she posted a video online in which she lashed out at the state after a negative experience with a local bank.

She railed against what she described as the country’s deteriorating public services and unchallenged sexual harassment. She has since remained in custody.

Amnesty International has called Fathy’s arrest a “new low in Egypt’s crackdown on freedom of expression” and, along with other rights groups, has called for her release.

A woman walks past a sign for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The government has approved a bill cracking down on social media. Picture: Salah Malkawi/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

In June, Egypt’s parliament initially approved a bill placing social media accounts, blogs and websites with more than 5,000 followers under the supervision of the country’s top media regulatory body, which can take measures that include blocking them if they are found to be disseminating false news, inciting violence or violating the law.

A final reading of the bill has yet to take place before its ratified by the president.